fib
Dl
mm
0
uuuu
,
Body of Dr. Dunn Was Found Early ThisMorning
OPMIII
l
1
mm
n
mm
LARGE APTO
. "S . Zrr-r wrv.vcrz7-i,i "
Believed' To Have Been
; . Accidental. He Was
Well Known in East
ern Carolina.
BURIED SATURDAY
First Odor of Gas Nb
- ticed Yesterday. Was
Dead Many Hours
Before the Body Was
Found. .
The body of Dr.) Ernest W;
DUnn, member of a 1 promi
nent local family, 'was found
this morning in a Voom of the
residence - he occupied ' on
Craven street. Death was due
. ...... . . ..... .
to asphyxiation and evidently
had taken place several hours' I
before the discovery of the
body. The' 'dead; body - of "his
Scotch ; collie ' dog, also, : was
found' in .the same room... "
. . -.:... .... '. ( ' ;
late yesterday afternoon noticed the
nril nr tf rraa a rw m m p n f p ITnnn it.
; However, they thought that it was
merely' a poor, connection somewhere;
and no one paid any particular atten
tion, to it. ' i V
. This morning the . odor was so
strong that Dr. Watson, who has a
room on the second story of the' build
ing, notified the - gas company and
asked that they send a man-.axpund
to make n investigation.'
Makn Investigation ' '
Mr. Weather, manager of the local
gas office, went to the house immed
iately. The ' odor was. strongest just
outside flies room occupied by Dr.
Dunn. Efforts were made to open the
door but it was found to be locked
from the., inside. Mr. Weathers' and
Dr. iWatson, accompanied by a police-officer,
then-went aroifhd to the
rear of the residence- and Weathers
was boosted in through a window
which had not been latched. The body
of Dr. Nunn was found lying across
the bed. The' dog was found on the
floor, cios& by. , ,
' A physician, who made an inves
tigation immediately ' afterwards, an
nounced that Dr. Dunn had been deaM
for some time. . . , 1
v- Gas Turned on 1'au : .
The gas was turned on full-blast.
Mr. Weathers made a thorough in
vestigation 'of the fixtures, which had
been installed only a short time agg.
He found that the gas - had been
' turned on but that the light itself
had not been turned n. The general
' belief is that Mr. Dunn in some matrt-
ner or other turned on the gas," prob-
' ably accidentally", and went to sleep
before he realized wha he had done.
."Esther that or . he became confused
as to the operation of the Hxtures. ,
When last seen yesterday 'he ap-
parently was in good spirits. Rela
tives said today that he. had -been
.talking of 'going to - Asheville f or a
time. ,He was well known throughout
handsome collie.-'was always with him
. -whereever he went and was devoted
to- him. .. " . ; , -:
The funeral services will be .held
tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock from
Christ Episcopal Church, Dr. J. A.
'. . (Continued on page five)
' !
Important notices
All persons who are
stated periods to, aid in the relief work now going on
are urged to telephone Mrs.- M. M. Marks, No. 416,
immediately. ;
v There are ten worthy white men who were thrown
out of employment by the fire. They seek temporary
work. Anyone who can employ them i requested to
communicate with Mr. Vache at the Parish House.
According to an analysis received today from'Ra-leigh,-
the Sloan , Spring water and the city water are
pure and free frpni'afly germs that might carry disease.
NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA,
$)0OQjflOQ FRE&TA
THREE ARRESTS 27 BfooEcs lo Bissiness
IN SMUGGLING Bistriot Are Laid- Waste
linilflD UCDC . : ;
I I II II II II 'III 1 B I I t '
LIUUU1I IILIIL
Guardsmen Broke Up Attempt
,To Bring , Liquor' Into the
Colored Section ,'.
-Three arreststhe capture of a keg
of liquor the seizure of an' automobile
and an excising chase of a negro over
backjfehces were the result of acti
vities last pight by members of the
local battery of - field artillery, whose
services have been ,. . enlfoted .1 with
special deputies to prevent liquor
from being brought into New Bern
at- the present time. ' 4
James McGrath and .rthur Berry,
two members of the battery, captured
John Goddett, ' Jesse "Mills and Ellis
Hooks, all colored, in connection with
the first raid which was staged last
night. - : v' .
Goddett -and Hooks, it ia alleged,
managed to get by the guards at the
James ,c5ity bridge ; McGrath and
Berry saw the"rnen while -,'they are
alleged to have "... been ' unloading the
liquor at Mills home. They arrested
&.U, threpf them and . took posses
sion of the large keg in which the
liquor '.was .contained.
Put Under ; Bond -
This morning, Goddett, Mills and
Hooks were given a ! hearing before
Mayor s Clark. Goddett and Mills were
placed lunder . a bond fo $500 each,
while Hooks .was turned loose. God
dett furnished his bond but Mills is
still In jail.
" ; JV little later McGrath saw-a negro
acting in a suspicious manner. The
guardsman called upon .the negro to
halt, but instead of doing so, the man
started to run. McGrath, gave chase
but the man managed to make good
his -escape. ; -
. During the , night . ' some of the
guardsmen also found an' automobile
in the colored section. It evidently
had been used for transporting liq
uor, for the odor was plainly notice
able about the cat- They waited for
a while to see whether anyone was
coming after the machine and, when
no one put in an appearance, they
drove the car down to the' city hall.
( Stop All Liquor Smuggling: '
Greatest of precautions have been
taken to prevent any liquor from be
ing smuggled into the city. All of the
guards , have been warned to keep a
close watch for any liquor that, may
be-' brought to town. , The assistance
of both white and colored citizens al
so has been asked in this respect.
JUNIOR ORDER TO HOLD
IMPORTANT MEETING
TS local Junior Order U. A. M.,
will hold a very important meeting
at their hall tonight at 8 o'clock.
Among, other important matters to
come up will be the election of offi
cers for the ensuing term and the
perfecting of the program that will
be given at .-Fort Barnwell next Sun
day afternoon, when a Bible and an
American flag will be presented to
the. school at that place. , This pro
gram was to have been carried out
last Sunday but owing to the great
catastrophe that visited New Bern
this matter was postponed.
Every officer and member is urged
to be present at the meeting tonight.
Visiting Juniors are welcome.
willing to give their cars for
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 8, 1922.
ASTORIA, Or?., Dec. 8. The
: business district of Astoria was
laid ; in ruins by the fire which
' broke out 'shortly after 2 a. m.
- today, and despite efforts of the
.local .fire departments and rein-
fortt'inent from Portland, swept '
27 blocks, causing a loss estlmat-
ed at V between $0,000,000 and
$15,000,000. -",
One lie wa$ lost in the fire accord
ing to reports available at 8 o'clock.
Maurice Staples, automotive dealer
and president of' the Astoria Bank
of Commerce, ;, dropped deads Two
other ' business men who were miss
ing and believed dead,-later were ac
counted for.-' , ' . ' . '
At 8 o'clock the -fire . - had swept
over 27 blocks and the flames had
eaten under the pavement on Com
mercial street, burning the piling on
which the city was built, and firemen
were unable to. cope - with such a
development. - - . ,
:. ' ' .: - '
Republicans Are Worried
Oyer Situation In Ohio
(By Associated Press) -. '
WASHINGTON, Dee. 8. Plans for
a republican meeting at Akron in
Fefiruary "for the purpose of p.4'ling
and encouraging the republican par
ty ip Ohio to get back to first juin
ciples" -were announcjd here today
by Representative Knight, republi
can,' Ohio. Fifteen or twenty "pro
gressive" representatives, Mr. Knight
said, will be there to hear an ad'dress
by Senator Borah, republican. Ida
ho, on "the necessity of redetlioating
the republican party to the service
of the people." . .
- "The meeting," said Mr. Knight,
will not be for the purpose of launch
ing, aiding or encouraging any third-
Scott Calls Big Fire
"An Act of Providence"
GREENSBORO,' N. C, Dec. 8.
That the great New Bern, fire was
nothing other than "a chapter of ac
cidents" . which constituted a - "provi
dential adt," was the statement made1
to the Daily Record today by W. A.
Scott, deputy insurance commission
er who, has just returned to his home
in Greensboro from New Bern where
he went to officially investigate the I
$2,250,000 fire that made 6,000 per
sos homeless and destroyed between
1,200 and. 1,500 houses and the three
churches. i
No person, declared the insurance
department . official, was criminally
responsible for starting the blaze a
hot box or friction started the fire at
the Roper lumber plant, operated by
the Rowland. 'Lumber company,
while a defective terra cotta flue was
responsible for the blaze in the home
of Henrietta Bryan, negress, taat
spread over approximately 50 blocks.
The conclusion the accidents started
both fires was reached, Mr. Scott in
formed the Record in an exclusive in
terview,' only after numerous persons
had been questioned and various ru
mors had been traced down.
The suspicion that belief in pre
paredness caused many negroes to
have high explosives in their homes
was repeated to Mr. Scott by variuos
residents of New Bern, and it was
passed on to the reported for what
itwas worth. Hence the reference to
the fire as an act of providence if
the explosives were stored for usage
as some persons firmly believed, then
perhaps trouble was averted, for it
is' a known fact that explosives were
discharged in a number of negro
homes, in a negro church and a negro
drug store. There was no legal or ex
cusable reason for explosives being
stored in such places, but they did
not contribute materially to the
spread of the flames.
"What I'm telling you," said Mr.
Scott, "is practically the same as my
official report to the insurance de
partm'ent." The statement, substna
tially in the words of the deputy in
surance commissioners, - follows :
"You must see the ruins to appre
ciate and realize the extent of the fire,
. ; (By Associated? Press)
ASTORIA; Ore., Dec. 8 Ten blocks
of the business distriqt.-were wiped
out, two lives were lost and property
damage estimated at $4,000,000 was
caused by fire which . broke out
shortly after -3 o'clock this morning.
Most of the big houses were burned.
Firemen! aided by forces from the
Portland department, dynamited
buildings in an effort to check the
flames. ,
The men reported to have lost
their lives were Morris Staples, pres
ident of the Bank of Commerce, and
W. H. Felton, owner of the largest
furniture store in . town.
The .buildings destroyed included
the leading hotel, the principal stores
and all the banks.
ASTORIA, Ore., Dec. 8 Patient
were rlsfnoved from' St. Mary's Hos
pital, all the windows of which vere
shattered by the explosions of dyna
mite or gasoline tanks.
nartv movement in Ohio, or to en
courage the candidacy of any man
for the nresidencv."
dedicate the party and1 "get away
It would seek, he added, to re
from being, an office boy for the spec
ial interests.".
Mr. Knight' declared in a statement
that it N was perfectly apparent- th.at
"Ohio is going to fall into - the lap
of the democratic party In 1924 un
less the republicans do' something."
adding that the Akron meeting would
seek ("to arouse and bring together
those forward-looking ca republicans
who are anxious that the party go
back to the service of all the peo-
iPle. . ; - '
and I want to say newspaper report
ers, have not exaggerated or over
estimated it in any particular. The
first fire started in the plant of the
Roper Lumber company, operated by
the Rowland Lumber company, at 8:
30 a. m. and the New Bern fire de
partment went there, the plant being
located out of the city limits.
"The second alarm came at about
li:30-a. m., from a point away over
in another part of town. The fire de
partment was slow in leaving the fire
fire and when firemen arrived on the
scene of the second, they found they
had no nozzle. They went back across
town and secured a nozzle, and then
discovered they had no wrench with
which to turn on the water and make
connections. This served to delay mat
ters and the fire got away t oa great
start and was soon beyond their con
trol.
"Between 35 and 50 blocks were
burned, and from 1,200 to 1,500
houses and three churchs were des
troyed. About 6,000 people were made(
homeless, 10 per cent of them, per
haps, being whites."
OASIS TEMPLE HOLDS
ANNUAL CEREMONIAL
CHAR.LOTTE, N. C, D. 8. The
membership of the Oasis Temple of
the Shrine, which has jurist! i:tio'i
over the western portion of the state
was swelled to approximately 4600
members by election of 225 t I'ldi
dates who are to take their final ('( -grees
late today.
FRANK BACON WILL
BE BURIED TODAY
SAN JOSE, Cal., Lec. 8. Friends
and relatives of Frank Bacon, wide
ly known American actor, and crea
tor of the role "Lightnin' Bill Jones"
gathered today at the little town of
Mountain View for the funeral ser
vices in charge of Mountain View
Lodge of Masons, of which he was a
member. -
PRICE.- FIVE CENTS
PfTifMrMT n
111
HARDING PUTS
IIS
President Appeared In . Per-!
son And Delivers Message
To Joint Session
WASHINGTON, Dec. - 8. Presi
dent Harding, in his annual message
delivered to, congress In person today,
deals with . almost a score of sub
jects, chief among them being pro
hibition, farm credits, the. transpor
tation problem, child labor and immi
gration. x -
The executive announces his pur
pose to invite the governors of the
states and territories to an early" con
ference with the federal executive
authorities with a view to adopting
definite policies of national and state
co-operation in administering the
prohibition laws. He says the day is
unlikely to come when the prohibi
tion' amendment will be . repealed,
and that the nation should adapt its
course accordingly. '. '
- President ,Hardin tells. Congress
that if " the statutory provisions for
prohibition enforcement are con
tary to deliberate' "public opinion
which he does not believe, that rigor
ous;' and . literal'' enforcement will
concentrate public, attention"7 on any
requiste modification. ', ,
"Such a course," he adds, "con
forms with the" law and sees the hum
iliation of -our - people before 'the
world and challenges the destruc
tive forces engaged in wide-spread
violation of, officials corruption and
Individual demoralization." ;
With regard to the transportation
, problem, Mr; Harding proposes that
the Railroad Labor Board be abolish
ed with the substitution of a labor
division in the Interstate Commerce
Commission with ample power to re
quire Its rulings t obe accepted - by
both parties to a disputed question.
The executive also proposes that the
law requires the carriers and their
employees to institute means and
methods to negotiate between them
selves their constantly arising differ
ences, limiting appeals to the gov
ernment party to disputes of such
character as are likely to affect the
public welfare. , "
ire Notes
Mrs. Nelson P. Angel, 84 Metcalf
street reports that a trunk was left
in her front hall Saturday after the
fire and as it is a fairly good trunk
she is in hopes that the owner will
call and get it. There was not much
value in the trunk, however, Mrs.
Angel is anxious for the trunk being
returned to its proper owner.
One of the largest donations made
toward the relief fund was received
here this morning by the Armstrong
Grocery Company from the R. J.
Reynold Tobacco Company. It was
a check for $1000. The Armstrong
Grocery Company also received an
order of ten barrels of flour from
the Northwestern Elevator Com
pany. LaG range, N. C.
Dec. 7, 1922.
Mr. Gary Pridgen,
New Bern, N. C.
1ea.r Brother:
I am enclosing a check for $15 from
the LaGrange B. Y. P. U., for which
we all ihank you very much to give
to the relief committee.
Please let me hoar if you receive
this check. Thank?.
Vo ir Union, B.T.P.JJ .
Harry Abbott, Tres.
Lecas Lewis today received a tele
gram from the Richards & Evans Co.
advising them to "please distribute
10 barrels of Blue Ribbon flour to
the' fire sufferers of your city for our
account and with our heart-felt
sympathy.
B. N. Duke, of New York City, to
day sent his check for $500 T. A. Uz
zell announced this afternoon.
Snow Hill, N. C.
Dec. 7, 1922
I
TO CONGRESS
i
I
Mayor Edward dark,
New Bern, N. C.
Dear Sir:
(Continued on page eight J.
FOR FIRE
IS AUTHORIZED TilAY-
Announcement Was Made . Today From Na
tional Headquarters Upon Recommenda--'
tion of Southern Division. .. . -V
CREATE LABOR BUREAU IN THIS CITY
State Commission of Labor Shipman Announces
' That Emergency Bureau Will Be Started .. .
In This City Immediately.
L - ' '
; .WASHINGTON, Dec: 8.
appropriated $35,000 for rehabilitation work at New Bern
-- - i .-
N. C, which recently met disaster by fire, according to an
nouncement today by Chairman John Barton Payne. , Thia
money will be used to rehabilitate 500 negro families and 50
white families and also to ration 1000 persons for 60 days.
The appropriation was made on recommendation of Joseph
C- Logan, ' manager of the Southern division, '; American', Red
Cross. ' 1 V '
RALEIGH, N. C, Dec. 8.
ment Bureau has been established at New Bern wlth Alfred.
H. Gerrans in charge, M;' LShipman, State Commissioner, of
Labor and Printing, announced todaY on his return from that
city, which, suffered a heavy. fire loss last weekr: The:bureau
began oprations today. W. ; H. Vause, of ; the Charlotte
office,, is directing the organization. . ?. ?y"T' "V1'"
An effort is being made, said Mr. Shipman" to keep as
much labor as possible in the vicinity of New Bern to prevent
a serious shortage of men when rbuilding of the burned area
is started. i , - h
LIGHTDN PACKING SOLDIERS WILL
MERGER SOUGHT CO TOIRROW
Adopts " Resolution by LaFoI
lette Calling on Harding
'For Information x
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8. The sen
ate today adopted a resolution - by
Senator La- Fallette calling upon
Secretary of Agriculture Wallace to
furnish all information in his pos
session relative to the proposed mer
ger of the Armour and, Morris, pack
ing companies. Information also was
requested as -to" what is being done
by government officials to stop the
merger.
The resolution was adopted unan
imously after La Follette had flayed
the packers for their control of, the
meat industry and their efforts to
create, a monopoly.
. La Follette charged the proposed
merger would be unlawful and that
if nothing has been done to prevent
it,' immediate steps should be taken
to check the packers and. preserve
competition in the industry.
Mrs. Vivian Harper left last night
for Washington City to be at the bed
side of her daughter. Miss Genese
Harper, who will undergo an opera
tion.
l ents Are Impracticable:
Will Build
Realizing the impracticability of erecting tents on a
large scale to accomodate the homeless citizens of New Bern,
the housing committee, together with a special committee
appointed last night, today is busily engaged in securing sites
and drawing up plans for wooden structures of a semi-permanent
nature, and it is hoped to erect them at once. 1 ,
T. G. Hyman, chairman, said that about a score of tents
probably would be erected on the property of vthe Stewart
Sanitarium, but that these would be for purely temporary!
purposes. The plan for rehabilitation, as outlined by hiraf
and approved by the committee, is to build wooden structures
somewhat in the nature of barracks buildings, each of which(
would be divided into sections and. would accomodate nine!
pleted immediately and to start construction work in a f ewj
days.
:.S-
SUFFERERS
The American Red Cross has
An Emergency Labor Employ
Fort Bragg - Delegation- To
Leave Here. Detail of Three
Men Will ; Remain . ' v , "
Lieutenant Ku'rtzz and " eighteen .
Bumra a irum c urt xrase wno ' naa
given splendid service here In, help
1 J! - - T . . . i T". . . . 1 . .
ing to carry on the relief work, will
return to . Fayetteville" tomorrow,
morning, it was' stated this afternoon.
A detail of three men remain In the
pity for a few days longer. i;
The assistance of the Fort -Bragg
delegation has been of : the finest
Kina. lieutenant JMirtzz and his men
have been untiring in their efforts to
do everything they can toj relieve the
distress of' the . sufferers.' Not only
have they assisted in erecting tents :
and in aiding in the housing prob
lem at the school house, but they
have stood guard and patrolled the
city as .well. They have always re
sponded when called upon for any
service and the thanks of the entire
city ,4s extended them for what they
have done. ' . ' , .
Miss Evelyn Johnson, of Greenville,
who spent the last few days here on
a visit to friends, returned to tier
home yesterday. j - .
Houses Here